South Kingstown launches upgraded web GIS viewer as longtime administrator Carol Baker retires

South Kingstown officials demonstrated a newly launched interactive web GIS viewer at the July 14 council meeting and honored Carol Baker, the town’s GIS administrator of 27 years, who will retire August 1.

Carol Baker, the town’s GIS administrator, walked councilors and staff through the new Access GIS interface produced by CAI Technologies. Baker demonstrated address search and parcel lookup, field cards, tax assessor information, historical aerial photos dating to 1939, flood‑zone overlays with base flood elevations, permit links to the town’s permitting system and a street‑level "street view" function. "This is the very first thing you see is that there are layers on the left that you can turn on and off," Baker said during a live demo, adding that the new site updates far faster than the previous platform and that the town’s permitting and assessor databases will be connected for nightly updates.

Town planners said the system will be accessible through the town website and that staff training for boards and commissions will be scheduled; planning staff also thanked Baker for preparing the office for the transition. Jamie Rabbit and planning staff noted the improved speed, the ability to produce mailing lists from the map viewer and to link directly to permit records — tools that staff said will ease routine public records requests and make public outreach faster.

Why it matters: The new platform replaces a nearly 15‑year‑old site and promises faster public access to property data, zoning districts, historical imagery and permit information. Planning staff said the upgrade will save staff time answering routine questions and will be an asset for planning, historic and conservation boards.

Retirement and transition: Baker said she is proud of the rollout and that the staff has built documentation and training resources; the town is actively recruiting for a replacement and said there may be a short vacancy. "It's my going away present to you," Baker said of the new system. Council members thanked Baker for her decades of service and praised the new viewer as a long‑planned modernization of town records access.

Ending: Town staff said the old site will remain available through the end of the month while users switch to the new viewer; help documents and video guides will be posted and training sessions for staff and board liaisons were scheduled.